Boot and shoe cleaner.



J. CONNOR.

BOOT AND SHOE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1912.

1,045,518. Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

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J. CONNOR. BOOT AND SHOE CLEANER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1912.

1,045,5 1 8. Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

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JAMES CONNOR, OF CLEVELAND, OKLAHOMA.

BOOT AND SHOE CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntefl N 26 1912 Application filed. September 5, 1912.

Serial No. 718,664.

Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 7 in Boot and Shoe Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

My invent-ion relates to boot and shoe cleaners of that form in which a scraper is used to scrape the mud from the bottom of the sole and is flanked on each side with yielding brushes having inwardly projecting bristles which clean the mud from the edges of the sole and the crevice between the sole and the upper.

The object of my invention is to provide a very simple and cheap cleaner, adapted to accomplish the above results, which shall be adjustable to various sizes of boots and shoes and also to the varying wear on the brushes and which shall also permit a slight yielding motion to the brushes for all adjustments, and at the same time be of simple and inexpensive construction and not liable to get out of order.

The invention consists in the novel means for mounting and adjusting the brushes and for taking up wear as will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my boot and shoe cleaner; Fig. 2 is a top plan view and Fig. 3 is a perspective view.

In the drawings, A, A, are two vertical metal standards having at their lower ends perforated feet a and a which are screwed to any basic support. These standards are formed integrally with a cross-bar A connecting them, whose upper edge is sharp ened after the manner of the usual scraper. At the upper end the standard A, above the cross-bar A is bent into a plane at right angles to the upright part and is extended horizontally at A to form a metal arm to which is attached, by screws 7) b, the brush B The other one of the standards A is also bent or twisted at its upper end a into a plane at right angles to form an at tachment for the other brush B. This attachment consists of a soft rubber block, or other filling piece, D, to which is adjustably fastened by a bolt E and a nut e, the semicircular member C of a horizontal shank or arm C which, by means of screws 0 0, is fastened to the brush B. The bristles of both of the brushes face inwardly toward each other and are spaced away from each other a distance apart adapted to receive between them the sole of the shoe. When the shoe is projected between the brushes, the sole is cleaned by the scraper bar A", and the edges of the sole and crevice between the sole and the upper are cleaned by the impinging bristles of the brushes. In my invention, however, the brushes are made adjustable to or from each other in a pcculiar manner, which I will now describe. The semi-circular portion C of the support of brush B, is slotted longitudinally along its middle at 0 to receive the bolt E and by rotating or sliding this semi-circular portionCover the connecting filling block D, it will be seen that the brush B may be altered in its angular relation to B as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, to make a smaller space and larger angle between the brushes, as shown by dotted line w, or a larger space and smaller angle as indicated by the dotted line y. This adjustment is made to fit the average size of shoes to be cleaned and it is of a yielding character in all of its adjustments, due to the fact that the curved semi-circular portion C is a spring and the block D to which it is attached is elastic, being made of soft rubber or other elastic or semi-elastic material. To accommodate a large range of adjustment between the brushes the filling block D may be made in sizes of varying thickness adapted to be interchangeably substituted for each other.

It will be seen that the adjustment provided for the brush B not only accommodates different sizes or widths of shoes, but the resilience or yielding character of the brushes is preserved without variation of tension for each of said adjustments; that is to say, the positive adjustment is effected by the rotary adjustment of the semi-circular bar C on the block D, and also by the varying size of the blocks if desired, while in each and all of these adjustments the tension of the spring, or yielding quality of the brush, is maintained uniform throughout said adjustments.

By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the brush B is in a somewhat lower horizontal plane than the brush B This is brought about by attaching the supporting shank C to the upper edge of brush B and attaching the supporting shank A of brush B to the lower edge of that brush. The object of this is, that when the brushes become worn on a definite horizontal plane, one or the other of the brushes may be reversed in position, so as to throw the unworn portion of one brush into the same horizontal plane with the unworn portion of the other brush, thus contributing to the longevity and efficiency of the brushes. The brush may be made of either fiber or bristles and may be entirely replaced by new ones when completely worn out.

I claim:

1. A boot and shoe cleaner. comprising a main supporting frame and two horizontally disposed brushes having bristles projecting toward each other, one of said brushes having a curved semi-oircular arm and a clamping bolt for clamping the semi-circular arm to the supporting frame.

2. A boot and shoe cleaner, comprising a main supporting frame and two horizontally disposed brushes having bristles projecting toward each other, one of said brushes having a curved semi-circular arm and a clamping bolt for clamping the semi-circular arm to the supporting frame, said arm being made as a resilient spring.

3. A boot and shoe cleaner, comprising a main supporting frame and two horizontally disposed brushes having bristles projecting toward each other, one of said brushes having a curved semi-circular arm and a clamping bolt for clamping the semi-circular arm to the supporting frame, and an elastic filling block interposed between the semi-circular arm and the main supporting frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CONNOR.

Witnesses:

G120. SPENCER, C. W. BALLAIN-E.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

